Kansas family sues Highway Patrol troopers

The wrongful death lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Ottawa County District Court, accuses one trooper of unreasonable seizure and use of excessive force in the death of Larry Death Smith in October 2011. Two other troopers who were involved are also named in the lawsuit.

The people filing the lawsuit include Smith’s estate administrators and legal heirs. They’re seeking more than $225,000 in damages.

Ottawa County Attorney Betty Mick said in 2012 that the trooper who shot Smith was justified in the shooting. A Kansas Bureau of Investigation also found that Smith fired first during the confrontation in a heavily wooded area near Delphos.